I don't know how to start this.
I had a conversation with a couple people earlier (vague conversation is vague). We were planning a philosophy gathering/discussion thing, anyway, not the point. I started talking about my blogging life which has become somewhat stagnant in the past couple months and one of these two people asked me why I blogged.
And I sat there staring, with a quizzical look in my eye, trying to figure it out. Since then, in an attempt to be more thoughtful and critical, I've actually tried to think about this a lot lately. Why blog in a public space when an email could do the same basic functions of three people communicating random and not so random moments of life and fascination and feelings from frustration to anticipation? What does this platform have to offer us, other than some self indulgent feeling of significance?
It's quite possible I'm being overly cynical about this and that there is value to this public space where we post all these fleeting thoughts but could someone help me out here? What do you get out of this being a blog, rather than three people emailing each other several times a week?
Philosophy can be so consuming. Once it gets a hold of you, you can't escape until you've examined every detail of your existence. And I'm not saying that's a bad thing, just that it can shake a lot of foundations which can be exhausting to constantly deal with.
Yeah.
2 comments:
For practical reasons, because I would never keep up a communication if it were through email. I suck at email. And you eventually lose motivation to post things other than "Hi. How are you? Good. Okay bye" when it's totally secluded communication.
I mean, not to compare us to internet celebrities-ish, why did Hank and John decide to communicate through an open platform (Youtube) rather than simply Skype and call each other daily? Partially because Youtube allows for more freedom, sure, but mostly because it allows other people to participate. Even when they didn't have many viewers, the possibility of anyone stumbling across what you have to say is motivating in itself. And it makes it a more inviting experience. And, to some extent, it pushes you to create higher quality content.
Why does anyone ever do anything in public when it could be done in private? Why do musicians create concerts, why do authors publish books instead of just being artsy in the private of their own homes (the necessity of money aside)? Because they want to share something with the world. They want to make a connection to people through their chosen medium, they want to show off a little, they want people to join in the experience of mutual enjoyment and/or emotion and/or [insert adjective here]. Like, I wouldn't call this blog art by any means -- not to insult it, but as it's mostly philosophical/essays/thoughts/factual storytelling, it's not what I would consider artistic writing, you know? -- but all the same, creating a blog gives you a chance to share a little spark with the world. Even if it is only one of thousands of blogs and you're only a teenager and you don't yet have much insight to give to the world.
Plus, it's fun. And a handy way to store all your teenage thoughts so you can laugh at yourself 15 years from now. I don't think everything has to be justified. You can do things just because you like doing it.
(Alright, that was massively more eloquently phrased than I could hope to achieve, but here's how I see it...)
First, I have a problem with cynicism. (Or I'm beginning to, I can't claim I've never been cynical myself.) As a Greek philosophy it's okay, but modern cynicism strikes me as pseudo-intellectual crap. What's the good in judging things based on their worth? How does one even begin to judge worth? Like, obviously this has no monetary worth, so the word "worth" becomes an abstract, emotional concept. If either one of you were to come on here and just flat-out say, "I really don't want to/can't/won't do this anymore/until *specified period of time*, that would be fine. I might even be the one to initiate that conversation, who knows? But if you said, "This has no point so I'm quitting.", that I would have a problem with. If you truly want to do something that is enjoyable to you (excluding illegal things), than you should, plain and simple.
Philosophy is neat to think about in small doses, but it can radically overcomplicate things.
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